The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival

2012 Featured Artist

"I borrowed a lot of fabrics from my Mom, and the wax and dyes, and I’ve been doing it ever since"

Amos Amit

Award-winning batik artist Amos Amit has been selected as the Featured Artist for The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival 2012. The artist was born in Israel in 1945 and raised on a moshav (farming community) in the Galilee. He began making batik 45 years ago. The inspiration for his work is derived from Judaika but is also powerfully influenced by his love of music.

Amit recently shared some of his recollections about his work and his career in a personal interview with Jenny Wright, Festival Director.

"I grew up in a musical family," Amit says. "Before my Dad came to Israel, he was a cellist in the Berlin Symphony. After that he became a farmer and was very content, but we grew up with music in the house."

Amit began creating art while serving in the Israeli Army. He started with oil painting in a realistic style, but then discovered batik and fell in love with the warmth of it and the fabrics.

"I borrowed a lot of fabrics from my Mom, and the wax and dyes, and I’ve been doing it ever since," he shared.

After receiving a Bachelors degree in agricultural engineering at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Amit came to the U.S. where he earned a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture at California Polytechnic Institute.

"I am self-taught and realistic, and never believed I could make a living out of my art," says Amit. "So I always studied something else."

His art is now at the forefront of his career. He does about 25 shows a year all over the country. He has received numerous prestigious national and international awards, and his works are part of many prominent collections. Amit’s original artwork, "Music for All" will appear on advertising and signature items produced for sale at the festival, including posters, t-shirts and hats.

"When you do a special piece and you see people walking around wearing the t-shirt, it’s a very big thrill," he said.

It will also be a thrill for all art lovers who visit the festival to have the opportunity to see Amit’s incredibly vibrant and inventive artwork for themselves April 14 and 15 at The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival.